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VOX Box: Heretic Saga Epilogue
Characters * User: Gremlin * User: Gimmix * User: Detective-Chimp * Admin: Oracle * User: The-Colonel * User: Radar * User: Intrepid VOX Source * The Network Chatterbox * November 17th 2016, 0833 Local Time VOX Archive * User: Gremlin: So the League of Assassins has a vampire? * User: Radar: You sound surprised. * User: Gremlin: No, not really, just... What's an ancient being of such power doing taking orders from Ra's al Ghul? * User: Radar: For all the power that a vampire possesses, our society makes it increasingly more difficult for even such predators to exist and hide. It's likely Ra's gave him some stability, like a fresh supply of blood.. * User: Gremlin: I guess, maybe.. Just seems like there has to be more to it. * User: Radar: There always is... but how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? * User: Gimmix: Enough of that. I want to know more about the kid that the League was using to control Shelly. * User: Detective-Chimp: The kid's name is Joey Wilson. He's the son of Slade Wilson. Apparently he's been in some sort of stasis since the late eighties, in a tug of war situation between the HIVE and the Assassins. * User: The-Colonel: This kid is the reason those two have beef? * User: Detective-Chimp: Not the only reason. Their quarrel goes back further than that. Much further than that, but he's been a catalyst. It seems he is the reason Slade Wilson broke ties with HIVE and went over to work for Ra's, after HIVE kidnapped Joey and attempted to use him to extort work out of Slade. For many years, Slade believed his son was dead, but he was actually placed in a magically suspended state by Damien Darhk. * User: Intrepid: So how did he end up in an ice-box in El Penitente's lab? * User: Detective-Chimp: Apparently Talia sanctioned a rescue mission but when she found out what the boy could do, she had Dr. Fries craft a cryo-stasis chamber for the kid while he was in a medically induced coma while being treated for his malnutrition and muscle atrophy caused by being kept in stasis excessively. * User: Gimmix: And what exactly could this boy do? * User: Oracle: He's an incredibly powerful psychic meta, likely caused by his mind reacting to him being impaired for such a long time. He's able to project his consciousness outside of his body and use it to possess others. * User: Gimmix: Why use him if the vampire could control minds? * User: Radar: Vampires usually don't possess that level of psychic ability. They might be able to tell one person what to do through psychic domination or they might be able to create a pack of loyal thralls, but that would require the vampire's constant presence. The boy could literally be anywhere they needed him to be, either taking direct control, or just riding passenger in someone's brain, ready to be activated. My guess is that the bloodsucker enthralled the boy for greater control of his mind and used him as the strings to make his puppets dance. * User: Oracle: But how did Shelly fit into all of this? * User: Gimmix: It seems it was a matter of convenience, as best we can tell. Shelly's still not fully recovered from the Suit of Sorrows, in fact she's currently passed out in my bedroom. We suspect a failed ritual conducted by the Black Glove deposited Shelly into their custody after she had been drifting in some dimension adjacent to the Void for an unspecified amount of time. After El Penitente got his hands on her, she was put through a number of crucibles to prove her skills or perish. When she proved her worth, she was brainwashed for months until an opportunity presented itself to Talia to regain possession of the Suit of Sorrows in a bargain with Batman, Inc. Shelly was forced to wear the armor until it broke her mind and made her all that more pliable to control, except even then it still was not enough... * User: The-Colonel: So that's when they decided to use the boy, huh? Makes sense. From what I know of Shelly is that she is quite the physical specimen. Quite capable with a wide range of skills well-suited to an assassin. But she's also headstrong. If you could get rid of her independence, she'd be a perfect weapon. * User: Intrepid: Okay, but what did they hope to accomplish with using Shelly as Heretic? First they had her attack the Soldiers and steal a Network access point. Why? To taunt us? To show us we were vulnerable? * User: Radar: I'm not convinced. There's no way they knew about the Network access point, neither did Shelly. The Network was created after Shelly went missing. So there's no way she knew about the Heretic protocol either... unless... expletive! Of course, the expletive kid. Gimmix, did Shelly knock you out? * User: Gimmix: I mean, she must have... * User: Radar: Are you sure? Did she knock you out or did the kid possess you? * User: Gimmix: I... I don't know if she did, I don't remember. clatter Huh? Be right back- Muted * User: Radar: Right, you'd have to be psychic yourself to remain consciously aware during most possessions. So maybe the kid combed through Jackie's mind while he was possessing her and used her knowledge to allow Heretic to locate Gremlin's access point while also providing Shelly with the Heretic protocol. * User: The-Colonel: If she didn't know about the Heretic protocol to begin with, why'd she claim that name? * User: Oracle: gasp Because the League stripped her of her identity in the brainwashing! that's why the League gives its members new names as part of their initiation. There's a longing for an identity and purpose at the end of all that indoctrination. When he defected from the League, Jason couldn't remember his real name and originally took to calling himself Dumas, with an 'S', the author of his favorite story as a way of stepping away from the name the League gave him: 'Dumah' with an 'H'. Later he latched onto the Red Hood, which was just another artifact connected to a suppressed memory from his childhood. He was clinging to any sense of self he could find and Shelly did the same. When she logged into the point, there would have been a prompt. 'Access Granted. Welcome, Heretic.' sigh * User: Detective-Chimp: The attack on the Wheelhouse, though? What was that about? Just a diversion to make us think Heretic left town? I don't know. Seems suspect to me. * User: Radar: Maybe... Who knows. I suspect we won't get too many more answers until Shelly recovers a bit more. Speaking of Shelly, what happened to the Suit of Sorrows and the Sword of Salvation? * User: Oracle: They're in the Vault at the Wheelhouse until we can best determine what should be done with them. * User: Intrepid: And what’s happened to the boy? This Joey, was it? * User: The-Colonel: He's staying with me, Kate, and Maggie... for now. He's my nephew, after-all. His mother moved to Sun City a few years back. She's already flown back to Gotham to be with him while he recovers. * User: Radar: No offense, Jacob, but is that safe? The boy's been- * : The-Colonel: He's being treated by Dr. McNider for now. He needs to recover from his cryo-sickness and while he does, he's also on some heavy sedation and neural blockers that should make him pretty easy to handle for the time being. We'll look into therapy for him soon. * User: Radar: Well, do keep us posted on his condition. * User: The-Colonel: Certainly. He has a lot to adjust to... No telling how he'll handle it. * User: Oracle: Speaking of people needing to adjust. How is Lee doing? * User: Gremlin: Oh, uh, honestly she seems to be fine. I guess this whole undead thing is easier for some people to handle. I mean, she is a bit more aggressive and now goes out every night to beat up muggers and perverts, but... nothing wrong with that, right? chuckle No, uh, she's good. Though, I am a bit worried she and Greg may have kicked the hornet's nest a little. * User: Oracle: With their little showdown at the clubhouse? sigh Yeah, I heard about that. Honestly, I don't know if they have much to worry about there. The Sons are making a lot of enemies as of late and I think they may be ready to implode. I don't know. I'll keep my finger on the pulse of that situation. I may have Batman 2.0 suit up and go see if he can make an appearance to shock some of the old timers in the club into falling back in line. At least whenever he gets the time to step away from his undercover op. But even then I'm not sure it's worth it. I think that Road Chaplain of theirs has more sway than their President anymore... Still, yeah, something needs to be done about them. Jackie, with your celebrity status as Gimmix and your loose connection to Desperado, are you concerned that the Sons might target you as some sort of retaliation for Desperado and... what's Lee calling herself? Crimson Avenger? * User: Radar: Yeah, Crimson Avenger. * User: Oracle: Right, thanks... So, uh, Jackie, do you fear any sort of reprisal might be possible? pause Jackie, are you there? chuckle Oh, honey, you've got your comms muted... pause Jackie, did you hear me? * User: Intrepid: Maybe her microphone shorted out? * User: Gremlin: I bet she stepped away for a bathroom break? I sometimes just mute it and walk away if there's not a good time to let everyone know I'm stepping away for a minute. * User: The-Colonel: Considering the circumstances of the conversation, maybe you could walk across the hall and check? * User: Gremlin: Sure. Just give me a second to- Oh, wait. There's a knock at my door. I bet that's her asking if I can fix her microphone. footsteps Is that you, Jackie? opens, startled scream, smack, thud * User: Oracle: Angie? * User: Heretic: headset jostling, huff, huff This is Heretic… I’m leaving. Don’t come looking for me. smash Trivia and Notes * End of the Heretic Saga Storyline. * Story continues from VOX Box: Heretic Saga 27. * Story continues in VOX Box: Weird Worlds Prelude. * Debut of Detective Chimp. Links and References * VOX Box: Heretic Saga Epilogue Category:VOX Box Category:Angie Aimes/Appearances Category:Jacqueline Pemberton/Appearances Category:Bobo T. Chimpanzee/Appearances Category:Barbara Gordon/Appearances Category:Jacob Kane/Appearances Category:Tot Rodor/Appearances Category:Vicki Vale/Appearances Category:The Network/Appearances Category:Heretic Saga Storyline